Floating element, floating assembly, and connecting bolt

ABSTRACT

A floating element comprises a substantially prismatic, floatable body having a plurality of rounded corner edges, and a plurality of outwardly protruding eye lugs which are disposed on different levels, each lug being fixed to the body at one of its corner edges and being formed outwardly of the body with a hole adapted to register with a hole in a similar lug fixed to and protruding from an adjacent floating element. A connecting bolt comprises a conical head and a substantially cylindrical shank adapted to extend through the registering holes in eye lugs of adjacent floating elements for linking them together, the shank carrying projections which are interlockingly engageable with recesses in the corner edges upon rotation of the bolt from an insertion position into a retaining position.

United States 6 Patent 11 1 Stranzinger FLOATING ELEMENT, FLOATING ASSEMBLY, AND CONNECTING BOLT 22 Filed: Aug. 15, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 280,834

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 19, 1971 Austria 7240/71 [52] 11.8. CI. 14/27, 404/40 [51] Int. Cl Eold 15/14 [58] Field of Search 404/34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 404/39, 40, 41; 14/27, 1

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,106 7 10/1928 Saives 404/40 2,565,369 8/1951 I-lamilton..... 14/27 x 2,681,190 6/1954 Thomson 14/27 x 2,841,977 7/1958 Kok 404/40 x 3,386,252 6/1968 Nelson 404/40 x 3,509,800 5/1970 Kirkamp 404/40 x 3,691,974 9/1972 Seiford 14/27 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 100,384 2/1937 Great Britain 14/27 1451 July 23, 1974 8/1928 France ..404 40 2/1962 Germany ..404/40 Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr. M re? 459:4,2.erj $9LE; B91.B91999 Dubno [5 7 ABSTRACT A floating element comprises a substantially prismatic, floatable body having a plurality of rounded corner edges, and a plurality of outwardly protruding eye lugs which are disposed on different levels, each lug being fixed to the body at one of its corner edges and being formed outwardly of the body with a hole adapted to register with a hole in a similar lug fixed to and protruding from an adjacent floating element. A connecting bolt comprises a conical head and a substantially cylindrical shank adapted to extend through the registering holes in eye lugs of adjacent floating elements for linking them together, the shank carrying projec tions which are interlockingly engageable with recesses in the corner edges upon rotation of the bolt from an insertion position into a retaining position.

10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PixTENTEU WH SHEEIZUFJ FIG.4

I I III I I PATENTEU JUL 2 3 9 4 SHEET 3 BF 4 My present invention relates to a floating element and a connecting bolt for interlinking a plurality of such elements into a larger structure. Whereas floating elements to be assembled to form floating platforms, floating bridges, floating walkways and similar structures are known in various forms, it is often difficult to interconnect such elements because separate parts are required for this purpose and must be connected to the floating elements by a special operation.

It is an object of the invention to provide a floating element, e.g. in the form of a floatable prism, which is free of these disadvantages and in which the connecting membersare securely fastenable toparts integral with the floating element itself. I accomplish this by providing the prismatic body of each floating element at its corners with protruding eye lugs which are adapted to receive connecting bolts for releasably coupling adjoining prisms with one another; the eye lugs which are dis posed at different corners lie on different levels to facilitate overlapping thereof with lugs of adjoining elements.

Advantageously each of the vertical corner edges of the floating element is formed above its eye lug with a recess in the shape of an arcuate groove and with a downwardly converging concave, part-frustoconical portion disposed above that groove. In this case, a bolt designed according to the invention and serving to connect a plurality of floating elements has a frustoconical head and a substantially cylindrical neck terminating in a shank to be received by the eye lugs; the shank of the bolt is provided with projections which are crescentshaped in top plan view and enter the grooves as the connecting bolt is rotated about its axis from its insertion position into a locking portion, with its head rest ing against the concave edge portions of the linked elements forming a seat therefor.

Compared to known elements of the same kind, the floating element according to my invention has the advantage of being integrally constructed so'that there is no need for manual working, as would be required with elements of wood, iron, or the like, and the manufacture is much more economical. Another advantage resides in that the floating elements may readily be assembled to form various configurations.

In the accompanying drawing, showing diagrammatically and by way of example an embodiment of a floating element according to my invention and an associated connecting bolt:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a floating walkwa assembled from a plurality of floating elements;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows on an enlarged scale an individual floating element. 7

FIG. 4 is a'sectional view taken on line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing portions of four floating elements, which are interconnected at one corner, and one connecting bolt; 7

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI of FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views respectively taken on lines VII-VII and VIIIVIII of FIG. 6.

A floating element according to the invention comprises a hollow prismatic body 1, of substantially polygonal (here rectangular) horizontal'outline, with sidewalls 2 having rounded corners as well as lower edges 3. The hollow prismatic body 1 is provided at each corner with a part-frustoconical seat portion 4 and under the same with a groove 5, of rounded vertical crosssection, which in a top plan view forms part of a circle.

The axis of the cone segment 4 and the center of curvature of the arcuate recess or groove 5 are disposed at the comer of the floating element 1. An eye lug 6 formed with a bore 7 protrudes diagonallyoutwardly below the groove 5. As is apparent from FIG. 6, the eye lugs 6, 6', 6" and 6" at the four corners are disposed on different levels so that the eye lugs of the different floating elements overlie one another upon assembly of adjacent floating elements.

Broken lines in FIG. 1 indicate points 21 where center marks may be provided. If the bottom of the floating element is drilled through at these points, water can enter its body 1. The arhount of water which enters may be controlled by giving an inclined orientation to the element, e.g., by rocking the same. By permitting such an entry of water, a higher stability may be imparted to the element. j

A scale may be provided at one sidewall or each of a plurality of sidewalls of the floating element to enable a reading of the draft thereof.

As is apparent from FIG. 6, four floating elements 1, 1, 1", and 1" to be assembled are juxtaposed so that their lugs 6, 6', 6", and 6" overlie one another. A connecting bolt 8 is then inserted into the corner area. The connecting bolt 8 has a top surface 9 and a tapering sidewall 10, which extends downwardly from that surface and defines a conical head and a cylindrical neck with a frustoconical underside. The cylindrical portion neck of the sidewall 10 is provided at four points, spaced apart, with projections 11 which are crescent-shaped in top plan view (see FIGS. 5 and 8) and adapted to fit into the arcuate recesses or grooves 5. The lowermost portion of the connecting bolt 8 consists of a cylindrical shank 12 having a slightly tapering, frustoconical tip 13. p

The connecting bolt 8 is inserted from above with the orientation shown in FIG. 8 so that the shank 12 moves through the registering bores 7 in the several eye lugs and holds the four adjacent floating elements 1, 1, 1"

and 1". together. In this position the projections 11 are able to enter into gaps formed between the rounded corners of the rectangular outlines of these elements so as to come to rest on the level of recesses or grooves 5 as the head of bolt 8 is seated in the frustoconical depression formed by the concave edge portions 4. To prevent an accidental rise of the bolt 8 allowing the linked bodies to come apart, the bolt is subsequently turned from its insertion position shown in FIG. 8 through 45 to the locking or retaining position shown in FIG. 5. For this purpose, the top surface 9 of the bolt may be provided with openings 14 for receiving a tool. During such rotation of the bolt, its projections 11 enter the grooves 5 of complementarily rounded vertical cross-section so that the bolt is locked against vertical movement.

To decouple the linked elements, it is sufficient to turn back the connecting bolt to its initial position and then to pull it out upwardly in an axial direction.

It will be understood that the eye lugs and the bores therein must be designed and arranged to permit insertion of the bolts through coaxially registering holes in the eye lugs without causing the latter to interfere with adjacent floating elements. For this reason, the center of each hole or bore 7 must be disposed at or outwardly of the midpoint of the distance by in which the eye lug protrudesfrom the floating element. Whereas the invention is not restricted to a specific orientation of the eye lugs relative to the direction of those sides of the floating element which meet at a respective corner, I perfer to let these lugs extend in a substantially diagonal direction to facilitate the connection of the floating element at each corner to more than one adjacent floating element.

What I claim is:

l. A connecting member for linking together a plurality of floating elements of generally polygonal horizontal outline with rounded corners and with eye lugs horizontally projecting from said corners at different levels for alignment of respective bores thereof upon juxtaposition of several floating elements with their eye lugs overlapping, each eye lug being overlain by a downwardly converging concave edge portion and by a recess beneath said edge portion;

said member comprising a bolt with afrustoconical head, a substantially cylindrical neck below said head, and a shank beneath said neck insertable into the aligned bores of said eye lugs;

said head being receivable in a seat formed by the concave edge portions of adjoining floating elements interconnected by the bolt; said neck being provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced projections adapted to enter from above between the rounded corners of said adjoining floating elements and fit into the recesses thereof upon rotation of the bold about its axis.

2. A connecting member as defined in claim 1 wherein said bolt is provided with a formation engageable by a tool for facilitating rotation of the bolt about its axis.

3. A connecting member as defined in claim 2 wherein said formation'comprises a set of openings in a top surface of said head.

4. A connecting member as defined in claim 1 wherein said projections have a substantially crescentshaped horizontal outline.

5. In combination, a floating element and a connecting member for interlinking a plurality of such elements;

said element comprising a floatable, substantially prismatic body of generally polygonal horizontal outline with roundedcorners, said body being provided at said edges with eye lugs horizontally projecting from said corners at different levels for overlapping with eye lugs of identical adjoining elements to be linked therewith, each eye lug having a bore, said body being further provided above each eye lug with a downwardly converging concave edge portion and with a recess beneath said edge portion;

said member being a bolt with afrustoconical head, a substantially cylindrical neck below saidrhead, and a shank beneath said neck insertable into said bore, said neck being provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced projections positionable at the level of said recess upon introduction of said shank from above into said bore with said head coming to rest against said edge portion, any of said projections being receivable in said recess upon rotation of the inserted bolt for locking same against upward withdrawal.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein said body has a generally rectangular outline, said eye lugs extending substantially diagonally from the corners thereof.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 wherein said recess is an arcuate groove of rounded vertical crosssection, said projections'having a substantially crescent-shaped horizontal outline and a vertical crosssection complementary to that of said groove.

8. A floating structure comprising: I

a plurality of floating elements each having a floatable, substantially prismatic bodyof generally polygonal outline with rounded corners, said body being provided at said corners with eye lugs horizontally projecting therefrom at different levels, the eye lugs of adjoining elements overlapping and being provided with registering bores, said body being further provided above each eye lug with a downwardly converging concave edge portion and with a recess beneath said edge portion; and

a set of connecting members interlinking said elements, each connecting member comprising a bolt with a frustoconical head, a substantially cylindrical neck below said head, and a shank beneath said head passing through the registering bores of overlapping eye lugs of several adjoining floating elements whose concave edge portions form a seat for said head, said neck being provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced projections received in the recesses of the floating elements linked thereby, said bolt being rotatable to disengage said projections from said recesses and aligning said projections with gaps between the rounded corners of the linked elements for facilitating upward withdrawal of the bolt.

9. A structure as defined in claim 8 wherein said floating elements are of generally rectangular horizontal outline, said eye lugs extending substantially diagonally therefrom. l

10. A structure as defined in claim 8 wherein said bolts are provided atop their heads with formations engageable by a tool for facilitating rotation thereof. 

1. A connecting member for linking together a plurality of floating elements of generally polygonal horizontal outline with rounded corners and with eye lugs horizontally projecting from said corners at different levels for alignment of respective bores thereof upon juxtaposition of several floating elements with their eye lugs overlapping, each eye lug being overlain by a downwardly converging concave edge portion and by a recess beneath said edge portion; said member comprising a bolt with a frustoconical head, a substantially cylindrical neck below said head, and a shank beneath said neck insertable into the aligned bores of said eye lugs; said head being receivable in a seat formed by the concave edge portions of adjoining floating elements interconnected by the bolt; said neck being provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced projections adapted to enter from above between the rounded corners of said adjoining floating elements and fit into the recesses thereof upon rotation of the bold about its axis.
 2. A connecting member as defined in claim 1 wherein said bolt is provided with a formation engageable by a tool for facilitating rotation of the bolt about its axis.
 3. A connecting member as defined in claim 2 wherein said formation comprises a set of openings in a top surface of said head.
 4. A connecting member as defined in claim 1 wherein said projections have a substantially crescent-shaped horizontal outline.
 5. In combination, a floating element and a connecting member for interlinking a plurality of such elements; said element comprising a floatable, substantially prismatic body of generally polygonal horizontal outline with rounded corners, said body being provided at said edges with eye lugs horizontally projecting from said corners at different levels for overlapping with eye lugs of identical adjoining elements to be linked therewith, each eye lug having a bore, said body being further provided above each eye lug with a downwardly converging concave edge portion and with a recess beneath said edge portion; said member being a bolt with a frustoconical head, a substantially cylindrical neck below said head, and a shank beneath said neck insertable into said bore, said neck being provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced projections positionable at the level of said recess upon introduction of said shank from above into said bore with said head coming to rest against said edge portion, any of said projections being receivable in said recess upon rotation of the inserted bolt for locking same against upward withdrawal.
 6. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein said body has a generally rectangular outline, said eye lugs extending substantially diagonally from the corners thereof.
 7. The combination defined in claim 6 wherein said recess is an arcuate groove of rounded vertical cross-section, said projections having a substantially crescent-shaped horizontal outline and a vertical cross-section complementAry to that of said groove.
 8. A floating structure comprising: a plurality of floating elements each having a floatable, substantially prismatic body of generally polygonal outline with rounded corners, said body being provided at said corners with eye lugs horizontally projecting therefrom at different levels, the eye lugs of adjoining elements overlapping and being provided with registering bores, said body being further provided above each eye lug with a downwardly converging concave edge portion and with a recess beneath said edge portion; and a set of connecting members interlinking said elements, each connecting member comprising a bolt with a frustoconical head, a substantially cylindrical neck below said head, and a shank beneath said head passing through the registering bores of overlapping eye lugs of several adjoining floating elements whose concave edge portions form a seat for said head, said neck being provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced projections received in the recesses of the floating elements linked thereby, said bolt being rotatable to disengage said projections from said recesses and aligning said projections with gaps between the rounded corners of the linked elements for facilitating upward withdrawal of the bolt.
 9. A structure as defined in claim 8 wherein said floating elements are of generally rectangular horizontal outline, said eye lugs extending substantially diagonally therefrom.
 10. A structure as defined in claim 8 wherein said bolts are provided atop their heads with formations engageable by a tool for facilitating rotation thereof. 